I’ve been in the real estate industry for more than ten years now. I started as a sales agent selling condos at Rockwell Land, then worked my way up to as a team lead and as a sales manager, and eventually handled a sales division at Arthaland. And the reality in real estate selling is that not everybody who you will talk to will immediately buy from you.
Moreover, it gets harder to sell when the common perception of the market today is that brokers are, quote unquote, people who commission off people. That’s sad to hear, right? If you’re a broker exclusively accredited with or a sales agent directly hired by a developer, you are also compelled to sell properties whether it fits your client or not.
But then you will push for that sale anyway because you need to. This was my mentality during the early start of my career.
But as I have dealt with all kinds of customers, I came to the realization that pushing for that kind of sale is not helping me in the long run. This eye-opening quote from Inc.com best summarizes why the “salesman” mentality actually hurts your game.
“If yours isn’t the business that’s looking to help and educate, but instead is only looking to sell, sell, sell, chances are good your audience is going to find another resource–one that cares about them and empowers them to make their best, most educated decisions.”
Shifting the mindset
Over time, I have mastered the art of making quality connections with my clients. I make sure that all of my clients that I have interacted with in the last ten years are still being serviced in a way, whether they’re buying or not.
Even as small as greetings on special occasions like birthdays, giving them regular real estate advice or news about real estate developments in the city or the properties that I am selling, what I do helps them be more smart and confident, and at the same time, breaks down communication barriers that are usually put up the first time you say your sales pitch.
It sounds exhausting I know, but you can never sell if you have not truly established that quality connection first.
Real estate is a very traditional business. It’s very personal, and it’s one of the oldest industries in the world. Because a home is the most expensive purchase anyone can make his or her lifetime, the reality of selling is that engaging and managing real estate clients are a lot harder than any other client.
But to become better in what you do, a lot of the success can be attributed to your behavior.
Selling Like a Pro
Now the next question to ask is how do you make quality connections without losing sight or focus of your sales or career goal? There are two ways how:
1. Do things that will make you top-of-mind of your current and future customers.
A salesman will always go for that one sale. A real pro goes for being the top-of-mind expert.
There’s value to every client, especially when you’re selling real estate. If they consistently see that as a broker and as a licensed professional, you’re there along the way, they will always remember you and come back to you because now you’ve become their go-to person.
“Ah, real estate, I’ll go to Chow.”
Up to this day, some of my clients come back because I’ve already built this relationship with them. And building that relationship doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to buy from me. They can come back to you for referrals, or come back to ask me sell their properties.
2. Take a risk, but know your strengths so that you can choose the right opportunities that you should take.
A salesman mentality may take the risk of selling a condo, townhouse, or house and lot to a stranger, but may be blind to see how his real estate or service can add value to the client.
Opening yourself up to a stranger is actually a good thing. One, you have yet to sell your sales pitch to him. Two, you have an opportunity to probe more and determine what value can you give him with your product or service.
Although shortcuts are good, not looking for opportunities to add value to what you’re selling is suicide: you risk losing your market share and will never be able to keep loyal customers.
Real Estate Pro Reborn
I never dreamt of becoming a real estate broker. However, I stayed in the industry not because of the money, but because of my love for leading people, whether on the professional side as a sales team leader, or on the client side as a partner/consultant. That alone is very empowering for me first, as a woman, and second, as a professional.
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